6 August 2009

Mydeposits.co.uk, a Government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme, estimates there could be as many as 400,000* tenancies with unprotected deposits.

Even more worryingly, some tenants are still completely unaware tenancy deposit protection laws even exist. Many only find out their landlord should have protected their deposit when things go wrong and they can't get their money back. And with the average deposit protected over £1,000, the losses can be significant.

Eddie Hooker, Chief Executive, mydeposits.co.uk, said:

"These figures are concerning because if a deposit is never protected, the tenant has to rely on the landlords goodwill to have their cash returned. A protected deposit gives tenants the chance to raise a dispute at the end of the tenancy if they feel their landlord has unfairly withheld it. It also gives tenants access to free and impartial dispute resolution.

"Some tenants seem to be 'clueless' about tenancy deposit protection. They need to be aware of what is happening with their money, you wouldn't just hand £1,000 over to a stranger without finding out what was going to happen to your money, why is a deposit any different? If in doubt ask your landlord or letting agent immediately."

• *1.864 million tenancies in England 2007-08, taken from the CLG Survey of English Housing. There are currently 1.4 million deposits under protection.
• Tenants who would like to check if their deposit is protected with mydeposits.co.uk should go to: www.mydeposits.co.uk/tenants/tenant-isyourdepositprotected.htm In June there were 4,352 individual searches to check if a deposit was protected.
• Mydeposits.co.uk has tightened its scheme rules to ensure that all letting agents using the scheme hold tenants’ money in a ring fenced account, ensuring tenant’s deposit money remains safe.
• For more information on the three official schemes go to: www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/index.htm

Ellie Irwin
mydeposits.co.uk
E: ellie.irwin@mydeposits.co.uk
T: 020 7840 8925

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About mydeposits.co.uk:

Mydeposits is the trading name of Tenancy Deposit Solutions Limited, a company jointly owned by the National Landlords Association and HFIS plc T/A Hamilton Fraser Insurance (the Scheme Administrator) to deliver an insurance-backed tenancy deposit protection scheme under contract from Communities & Local Government. Landlords and letting agents wishing to use this scheme are required to register with the Scheme Administrator. They can find out more and register by visiting www.mydeposits.co.uk. Registered members of the Scheme are able to protect and unprotect deposits at the beginning and end of tenancies. Fees are tax-deductible. In the event of a dispute at the end of the tenancy agreement, both parties are offered access to alternative dispute resolution (ADR). This procedure will be evidence-based, relying on documentation and records.